Mixing valve



E. A. ROMAN MIXING VALVE March 22, 1966 Filed May 28, 1962 F G 5 INVENTOR Edward A. Roman BY I W /M United States Patent 3,241,566 MIXING VALVE Edward A. Roman, Speakman Company, Riverview Works, Wilmington 99, Del. Filed May 28, 1962, Ser. No. 198,312 1 Claim. (or. 131-400) This invention relates to improvements in mixing valves for fluids under the same or relatively different pressures and temperatures. More in particular this invention relates to an improved water valve for controlling the flow of water wherein compensation is made for variations in the pressure of one of the water components by means of a floating piston. This invention is an improvement over the Fraser Patent No. 2,443,499, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. This invention is also an improvement over the Symmons Patent No. 2,308,127.

Heretofore floating pistons have been used in connection with water valves, particularly in connection with valves controlling the water delivered to certain bath fixtures, such as shower baths. These valves contain a floating piston which automatically adjusts the volume of either of the liquid components in proportion to the pressure differential between the components. This control means is known as a floating piston type control and has heretofore been used principally to compensate for variations in pressure. This floating piston may be used to control the volume of water that passes through the piston chamber by rotating the piston so that a solid side portion thereof will cover one or more of the water outlet ports and thereby control the discharge volume. This has necessitated the adjustment by rotation of the valve member without interfering with its verical oscillaing action. Certain valves, incorporating the floating plunger type control do not have the plunger available for removal either for replacement or inspection without completely disassembling the valve structure, and in some cases the access cap to the floating plunger is even brazed into the valve body.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a valve structure having a floating piston type control which piston is rotatably adjustable and has means attached thereto to retain this piston in adjustment without interfering with the oscillating action of the piston.

It is also an object of this invention to provide adjusting means for a floating piston which will adjust the piston without interfering with its free reciprocation.

It is still another object of the present invention to combine with a floating piston, that is adjustable, and will be retained in adjustment, a means of access to the piston for removal of the same, without dismantling or destroying the valve structure.

The various features of novelty which characterize this invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, its ad vantages, and specific objects attained with its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which have been illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the valve embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is an expanded view of the floating piston and its retaining means.

Referring more in particular to the drawings, a valve body 20 has the cold water port 21 and the hot water inlet port 22 located near the bottom thereof. An outlet port 23 for mixed, hot and cold water, is located in the back of the valve assemblage. The cold water inlet port 21 admits water to the cold water chamber 24, which chamber has the ports 25 therein to admit water to the valve assemblage referred to below. The hot water inlet port 22 admits hot water to the hot Water chamber 26 which has a hot water port 27 associated therewith.

A chambered valve block 28 is mounted within the valve body 20 and is retained in water tight engagement therewith by means of the gasket 29, across the bottom thereof, and the gasket 30, across the top thereof, as shown in FIG. 3. This valve block 28 has a hot water control valve 31 and a cold water control valve 32. Each of these valves have stems 33 and 34 having valve elements 35 and 36 on the bottom thereof, which valve elements contact valve seats 37 and 38 surrounding the ports 27 and 25 respectively. These valve stems have enlarged portions to control the flow of water into the piston chamber 39, shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. This piston chamber has its axis parallel to the axis of the valve stems 33 and 34 and has a removable hollow piston retaining member 40 therein. Within the piston retaining member is a floating piston 41 having a solid central portion 42 and having circular end portions 43 and 44 on each end thereof. The water pressure below the central circular portion and above the central circular portion retains this piston in floating engagement with the valve port associated therewith in such a manner that the circular end portions 43 and 44, respectively, control the amount of hot and cold Water admitted. When the pressure of one of the cold water ports, for instance, is greatly decreased the floating piston 41 will respond to this change in pressure to open up the cold water ports and close the hot water ports until such a time as a balance is established between these pressures.

This piston has the solid portion 45 on one side thereof as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, which cooperates with the exhaust ports 45a and 45b in the piston chamber to control the volume of mixed water that is discharged from the piston chamber into the mixed water chamber 60 which is connected with the outlet port 23. The upper end of the piston has the stem portion 46 which must have the conduit 47 theret-hrough to maintain the piston in balance. This stem portion, or projection 46 is made round with a flattened side and fits within the housing 48 which has a recessed portion 49 which matches and receives the stem 46, allowing free vertical reciprocation of this piston member, but prevents rotation of the piston member due to its flattened side. This closure element is retained in water-tight engagement with the valve housing by means of the O-ring 50 and has an upper portion 51 circular in form, with a flattened portion thereon to be received by the operating handle 52, shown in FIG. 1. The valve stems 33, 34 are operated by means of a yoke 53 attached to the screw stem 54 on which is mounted the operating handle 55, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In operation cold water is admitted through the port 21 into the chamber 24 and hot water is admitted through the port 22 into the chamber 26. When the yoke 53 is raised cold water flows through the port 25 and hot water through the port 27. The cold water flows upwardly through the hollow valve stem 34 and is admitted at the top of this valve stem to the floating piston. The hot water is admitted through the port 27 into the bottom half of the floating piston and balances this piston with relation to the cold water. The water leaves the piston chamber by means of the outlet ports 45a and 45b and flows into the mixed water chamber The amount of water leaving the piston chamber is determined by the rotational position of the floating piston which is adjusted by means of the handle 52 which rotates the adjusting element 48 which retains the stem 46 of the floating piston 41 therein. This floating piston is of course free to move vertically but is not free to rotate without the adjustment of the operating handle 52. The adjustment of the handle 55 which raises the yoke 53 controls the temperature of the water, that is, it controls the relative amount of hot and cold water admitted to the mixing chamber, but the volume of water admitted to the mixing chamber is controlled by the adjustment of the floating piston 41.

When it is desired to remove the floating piston the screw 19 is removed which allows the removal of the handle 55. This then exposes the screw 13 which may be removed and allows the removal of the handle 52. The retaining nut 17 is then removed which permits the removal of the escutcheon 16. The upper portion of the chamber housing 15 is then unscrewed to expose the housing 48 which may be removed with the piston 41.

Heretofore all attempts of using the floating piston to control the liquid flowing through the piston chamber have been unsuccessful, because it has not been possible to have access to the floating piston for replacement or repair. The device of this invention permits such adjustment and the piston is free to float during adjustment and is retained in its adjusted position until such a time as the closure element is readjusted.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, there have been illustrated and described the best form of embodiment of this invention now known, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claim and that in some cases certain features of the invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

What is claimed is:

A mixing valve for hot and cold water comprising:

(a) a valve body having hot and cold water inlets and an outlet for mixed water, and having a hot water chamber and a cold water chamber in communication with said inlets and having a mixed water outlet chamber in communication with said mixed water outlet, and having a face element across the top thereof,

(b) exhaust ports from said hot and cold water chambers, each port defining a valve seat,

(c) valves contacting said valve seats and controlled by a first manually adjustable valve stem mounted in said face element,

(d) admitting hot and cold water in regulated amounts to hot and cold water exhaust ports, said exhaust ports being in communication with a piston chamber.

(e) admitting water to said inlet ports therein, said piston chamber having exhaust ports for hot and cold water communicating with said mixed water chamber,

(f) having a floating piston therein to control the flow of water therethrough in proportion to the pressure of the hot and cold water,

(g) said floating piston having solid portions thereon capable of covering the ports, to limit on rotation, the amount of water passing therethrough,

(h) said floating piston having a second stem parallel to and offset from said first stem on the upper end thereof having a flattened surface, and

(i) a manually adjustable control element mounted separately from said first valve stem in said face element, having a lower square recessed portion to receive and hold in sliding engagement therewith said flattened surface on said stem portion of the floating piston.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,308,127 1/1943 Symmons 137100 X 2,443,499 6/1948 Fraser 137l00 2,582,539 1/1952 Grimod 137-625.17 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 991,639 6/1951 France.

M. CARY NELSON, Primary Examiner.

ISADOR WEIL, Examiner.

A. JAFFE, E. FEIN, Assistant Examiners. 

